by Catie Rhodes
“Where’s Tubby?” Dillon whispered.
Steps came from behind us. The way Tubby’s voice had sounded came back to me again, finally making sense. Dread clawed the pit of my stomach. I turned slowly. My flashlight found Trench Coat’s ugly face. It was set in a sneer. He had his shotgun pointed at us. Dillon and I raised our hands without bothering to go for the guns Tubby had given us.
This wasn’t a pissing match. Trench Coat would kill us in the blink of an eye. His finger tightened on the trigger of his shotgun, and he smirked at me. “Tubman’s in the cabin. Go on in.” I hesitated. Trench Coat stepped forward, shotgun pointed at my chest. I’d be dead if he pulled the trigger at this range. I’d likely be dead if I went in the cabin. The only plus to going in the cabin was I had some time to try to figure out a way to take Trench Coat with me. I turned and went inside.
Soon as I stepped inside the old log cabin, the odor of mildew made me sneeze. Light flickered from a camp lantern hissing in the corner. It caught Hannah’s red hair. She stared blankly at the lantern as though mesmerized by it.
I rushed to her, eyes adjusting as I went. Tubby came into focus. He sat a few feet from Hannah, face stony. Bullfrog sat next to him, arms draped over his knees, eyes hooded and bored. Dillon grabbed my hand and squeezed too hard. We clung to each other. I couldn’t believe this was how it all ended, with no vengeance or setting things right at all.
“Sit on the fucking floor, all of you.” Trench Coat waved the shotgun.
“Where’s King?” I hissed at Tubby.
He shook his head and turned away. My nerves sang soprano. I was missing something big here.
Hannah turned to me, fear deadening her face. “Trench Coat was waiting for us. He knew we’d come.”
Bullfrog snickered. I spun to face Tubby. He turned his back to me. I reared back and hit him in the back as hard as I could. He grunted but didn’t face me again.
Trench Coat laughed. “Lemme call King, see what he wants done with all ’a you.”
I leaned my head against the wall. Hot tears streaked down my cheeks. Trusting Tubby had been stupid. Now people I cared about would die. At least I wouldn’t live to regret it long.
The hag sang songs of joy inside me, drunk on my despair and the likelihood that I’d die soon. At least the entity would invade one of these murdering assholes and destroy them from the inside out. The small silver lining did little to soothe my fury at myself and the regret brewing inside me.
Trench Coat spoke a few words into the phone and hung up. He came over and unlocked handcuffs tethering Tubby and Bullfrog together. “Tubman, Bullfrog, disarm Peri Jean and her cute friend. Put the guns on the table.”
Tubby and Bullfrog went about their task. Bullfrog made no effort to avoid my death glare, but Tubby sure did. His bony shoulders hunched nearly to his earlobes.
I glanced at Dillon, nodding my head at Trench Coat. Couldn’t she tell him to shoot himself in the head or something? Understanding what I wanted, she shook her head, lips turned down and blinked rapidly. I got it. She needed to make eye contact for her magic to work. Perfect.
Trench Coat came to stand over Hannah, Dillon, and me. He dangled two sets of handcuffs from his finger. “Y’all make a little lady chain. King’s waiting on y’all. Told him I had the main course, plus a side act.” He liked his joke so well he laughed.
I kicked at him as hard as I could. Faster than I imagined a man his size could be, he snapped out one hairy arm and grabbed me by my ankle. He lifted me by my leg until I was off the ground and then kicked me in the face. I heard Tubby shout “no,” and the world went black.
I woke up some time later, my mouth and throat full of blood. My body rocked with the motion of a vehicle moving.
“You okay?” Dillon whispered.
“Yeah.” My voice came out all clotted. “I need to spit.”
“Well, I’m in front of you. Don’t spit on me.” Hannah sounded tougher than I felt at the moment. Evidently she’d hardened herself against whatever waited at the end of this ride.
I swallowed hard and held back another retch. She’d probably strangle me if I barfed on her.
“We had to carry your sorry ass all the way to this van,” Hannah barked. Her tough act was about half past old.
“Look, Hannah, I apologize things went to shit. I told you—” I cut off my own words. Reminding her she could have stayed away wouldn’t help matters, so I changed the subject.
“What happened with Tubby and Bullfrog? Did Trench Coat let them go in exchange for double-crossing us?” Tubby’s betrayal was a hollow throb in my chest. How could I have trusted him? Stupid.
“Oh, we’re here.” Tubby sounded more disgusted than scared.
Dillon spoke up, her words running together. “After Trench Coat kicked you, Tubby tried to get the gun away from him. Bullfrog pulled him back and said they’d done their part and could they go. Trench Coat said King had had enough of both of them. Said they’d taken a dead end road tonight, and the end was coming up fast.”
The van rolled to a stop hard enough to send the three of us sprawling together. A grunt came from the other side of the van. It sounded like Bullfrog. I wished I had the energy to fry his brains right here, but my trick with the ghosts back at the compound had drained me. I needed all the energy I had left to fight Trench Coat and King. Footsteps crunched outside the van. I stiffened and held my breath. A screen door slammed. King’s voice raised in greeting.
“I got ’em,” Trench Coat crowed.
I nudged Dillon and spoke in a whisper. “We get inside, tell Trench Coat to shoot himself. I’ll do the rest.” I prayed for luck, strength, and wisdom but figured I’d be lucky to die first so I didn’t have to watch Dillon and Hannah die.
“Come here,” Tubby hissed.
“So you can betray me again, Judas Tubman?” I glared into the dark in what I hoped was Tubby’s direction.
“No. Hell no. I got a handcuff key in my sock. I’m cuffed too, so I can’t get it, but you could. Get yourself loose.”
I crawled toward Tubby, forcing Hannah and Dillon to crab walk along with me. I bumped into his knees.
“Your left,” he mumbled. “Look, I’m sorry things went this way.” Tubby did sound sorry. He sounded like he was about to cry. “I really did want to help.”
But when it came down to saving himself, Tubby did it. I pulled off his boot and dug down into his sock. The key was on a piece of thread tied around his ankle. I guess he figured it was better than nothing.
“Just snap it.” His voice, completely absent of his usual swagger, was actually nice. I hooked my finger underneath the string and did what he said.
Voices came from outside the van. A key turned in the lock of the van’s cargo doors.
I shoved Tubby’s boot back on his foot. We women scooted back to our side of the van. The door swung open, and I saw that I was right back at Wade’s little cabin by the lake.
King leaned into the van, grinning. He winked at Hannah. “Sugar, I am so glad you’re here. This is where it gets fun.”
Hannah tightened her body and snarled at King. He laughed at her defiance.
“Look at the other one.” Trench Coat gestured at Dillon.
Dillon leaned against my arm, body stiff with fear. Tough as she was, she knew we’d stepped in some stinky shit this time.
Trench Coat grabbed her by the arm and hauled her out, dragging me and Hannah behind her. He didn’t give her time to climb out of the van and just threw her on the ground. It nearly yanked my arm out of socket. I held onto the handcuff key, but only out of stubbornness. I nearly fell on top of Dillon. Hannah did fall on top of me, knocking the air out of me.
King hauled me up by one arm and spoke into my ear. “You gonna know you’re dead by the time I’m finished.”
19
They dragged us into Wade’s cabin. It still smelled like mildew, but now the tang of bacon hung in the air too. I looked for Wade but saw him nowhere. Probably dead. I swallow
ed a sob.
Corman came out of the room I assumed was the bedroom. One arm was in a sling, and white bandages covered his shoulder. He slipped me a nasty wink. “And here are our guests.” Pistol gripped in his good hand, he sauntered to where King stood and echoed his father’s posture.
“Get ’em seated.” King jabbed a finger at the floor.
Trench Coat came up behind me and kicked me in the back of the knee. The force of the blow traveled up my body like an explosion. I yelped, and one leg went out from under me. Trench Coat forced me to the floor. I dragged Dillon and Hannah with me. The three of us sat in a row. All we needed to do was reposition our hands and we’d be like those see-no-evil monkeys.
Trench Coat left the room to fetch Tubby and Bullfrog. The door closed behind him. A few seconds later, someone gave it a hard kick. From outside, Trench Coat yelled, “Open it.” Corman hurried over and opened the door. Trench Coat hauled Tubby and Bullfrog into the room.
“Over here.” King pointed at an empty spot near the kitchen. “Give ’em a good view of the action.” Both men laughed.
“Get on your knees, boys.” Trench Coat pulled on Tubby’s arm.
A sheen of sweat stood out on Dillon's too-young face. I bumped her arm and pressed the handcuff key into her palm. She nodded and closed her fingers around it. When the time came, she’d unlock herself and persuade Trench Coat to shoot himself.
From across the room, Tubby watched us, ignoring Trench Coat’s increasingly irritated order to kneel. When Tubby saw he had my attention, he lowered his head like a bull about to charge and slammed his forehead upward into Trench Coat’s chin. The big man shouted in pain.
“Hey!” King shouted, wrapped one fist around Tubby’s arm, and yanked him away from Trench Coat. Tubby turned around and bit King. Corman ran over to join the melee, waving his one good arm.
This was it. I turned to Hannah. She stared at me, dead-eyed as King. “Now,” she mouthed.
I nudged Dillon and nodded at Trench Coat. She gave her wrist an expert twist, and the handcuff fell off. She dropped the key on the floor next to my hand. I picked it up and uncuffed Hannah from me. Before I’d have told her to get out, to run for her life. This time, I gave her the same good luck nod I’d give anybody else.
Dillon stood and rushed at Trench Coat. She kicked him in the shin to get his attention. Knots of fear tangled up with new doubts. Watching Dillon kick Trench Coat showed me how unprepared we were for this. It was like seeing a toddler attack an adult. I wanted to call her back but it was too late. Trench Coat spun, eyes wide with surprise. They locked on Dillon's. Her mouth quirked into a smile that sent a chill down my body.
“Shoot yourself in the head. Now.” Her raspy smoker’s voice, not too different from mine, sounded like thunder coming down. I waited for Trench Coat to paint the wall with his brains.
He laughed. “How’d you get loose?” He grabbed her by one arm and pulled her close.
The last wisp of hope I’d held floated away. Our gifts weren’t a hundred percent. Sometimes they didn’t work. What a bad time for Dillon’s gift to go on vacation. Or maybe Trench Coat was too inhuman to fall prey to her. Either way, we were cooked.
King twisted away from Tubby, who was snapping at him like an angry dog. Tubby latched onto to King’s neck. Corman, finally doing something useful, drew his pistol.
“Not yet. Hit him in the head,” King yelled. Corman did. The sound of the metal hitting bone nauseated me. Tubby, hands still cuffed behind his back, crouched to one side and spat out blood. His legs wobbled and bent. Corman slammed the pistol into his head again. Tubby collapsed, dragging Bullfrog down to kneel exactly where Trench Coat had been trying to get them to kneel before it all started.
Trench Coat, Dillon dangling from one hand, spoke to King. “Ain’t she cute? You got to let me have first go at this one.”
King slapped Trench Coat on the back. “You saved my ass tonight. You can have first throw at all five of them.”
My mind scrambled for a new plan. I even tried replaying Priscilla’s appearance behind Tubby when he told me the boiling frog story. None of it would connect. The ideas burned to ash and then rose out of my reach. There was nothing to do but kneel there on the floor, waiting for our fates to find us. This was how it ended. No bang whatsoever. Just a bunch of beat-down rejects fixing to die badly.
Dillon stomped Trench Coat’s foot. He leaned down into her face.
“S-s-shoot yourself in the head.” Her voice didn’t sound so sure now. I wasn’t so sure either.
Trench Coat used the hand not holding Dillon's arm to grip the back of her neck. He gave her an open-mouthed kiss. My stomach plummeted. No. This is all wrong. Dillon lost her cool and screamed against Trench Coat’s lips, her yell ending in a sob. He broke the kiss and dragged her toward the couch. She locked her legs and swung her fists, panicked blows glancing off his arms. He threw her onto the couch. She tried to get up, but he pushed her back down. Her terror-filled eyes locked on mine.
The rider dug its talons deeper into my shoulders, lapping up the fear and sadness I felt and begging for more. Its thoughts crowded into mine.
“This is even better than you killing yourself. You’re so afraid. Maybe I can even collect more spirits than just yours.” The nasty monster’s words sped up until they ran together.
My black opal pulsed magic, and some of the fear left me. I remembered what I was and reached for the mantle. I’d make Trench Coat burn from the inside out. Show him who I was and what I could do. My magic crackled in the small room, touching each person. When it hit King, he raised his head and walked toward me with his pistol raised.
“Suck it in, witch. I won’t just blow your head off. I’ll bring you over here to the couch for a front row seat.” He stepped closer, put one booted foot on my calf, and began to press down. He hit a nerve and shot pain up my thigh. He bore down until I whimpered. Then he took his foot off me and spoke into my ear, his humid breath contaminating my skin. “Sit still.”
I kept my eyes on the dirty floor. Think. There had to be a way to get out of this. Finding it was my damn job.
Corman watched the scene with glazed eyes, a smile playing his lips. His gun hand hung limp by his side. The sight of him infuriated me. I’d been ambivalent about Corman until I’d bumbled into playing hide the salami with him one boring day when I worked at Long Time Gone. Afterward, he’d humiliated me at every turn but still expected we’d become an item. I had reacted poorly. He’d gotten pissed. But bad as Corman was, he wasn't soulless. He loved his little nephew whom he was raising. He loved his father, awful as he was.
The big question was could Dillon get through to Corman? I turned back to find her crying with her mouth closed, eyes wide with fear, as Trench Coat, pants around his knees, held her down with one hand and tore at her clothes with the other. I had to take a chance. I glanced at King. He still had the gun pointed in my direction, but he wasn’t watching me. He stared at Trench Coat and Dillon, the front of his pants bulging.
The sight spurred me into action. Anything was better than watching this scene play to conclusion. I let out a loud cough, gaze flicking to King to see if he reacted. He didn’t. I coughed again. Dillon rolled her eyes to me. I glanced at Corman and then back at Dillon and gave her a nod.
She took a deep breath and turned to Corman. She locked eyes with him. “Shoot him in the head.”
Slowly, as though he was dreaming, Corman raised his gun hand. His hand tightened around the gun, and his finger squeezed the trigger.
King realized what was happening a beat too late. He took his gun off me, shouted, “No!” and tried to shove his son.
The gun went off with a flash of fire. Trench Coat’s head jerked to one side before I heard the crack of the gun. Blood and brains hit the floor in a liquid splat. The big man dropped to one knee, hand scrabbling madly, probably for his gun, which lay on the floor next to him.
I climbed to my feet, handcuffs dangling from both wrists, and stagge
red across the floor to kick at the Trench Coat’s hand before he used up his last seconds of life shooting Dillon in the face. Trench Coat fell to one side and lay still. Dillon ran to cower behind me.
“What the fuck?” King screamed at his son.
Corman, blank faced, slowly lowered his gun.
“Fucking witches.” King snatched the gun from Corman’s hand and looked around for Dillon. He saw her cowering behind me and simply pointed the gun at me. “Your mother was right about you.” His finger tightened on the trigger. “Nothing but trouble.”
Cold spread over me. In my worry about having enough energy, then of King shooting me for using my magic, I’d almost waited too long. I grabbed at the mantle and sent the invisible ants to roam all over King’s body. My favorite trick. The horrible man frowned at first. One foot twitched. Then the other. The tap-dance sped up until he tripped around the room, clodhopper boots drumming on the floor.
Hannah marched toward him. “Dance, bitch, dance,” she yelled, wagging her hips, her face red and angry.
King spun to stare at her and lost his balance, eyes flashing fury. His gun thumped to the floor. Dillon dove for it, checked the safety, and pointed his own gun at him. Her finger curled around the trigger. She meant to kill him if she got the chance.
I opened my mouth to tell her to shoot him but stopped. An idea took form. This might be my chance to get rid of the hag. “Dillon, hold off," I called.
“I don’t have to settle for him. You can’t get rid of me yet.” The cold, scaly whisper slithered around my brain. It felt like the greatest truth ever spoken, and that was how I knew it was a lie.
King lunged at Dillon. I gave him even more ants and burned them hotter. I savored the way he twitched with mild discomfort a few times before he screamed and slapped at himself. Hannah kicked him in the ass when he stumbled too close to her. I laughed.